Hurricane Sandy
by TheresaJoliePitt
Summary: AU. Part of my sister stories. May want to read them first before this. I had nothing better to do in the dark than write, not like I don't do that anyways when I do have power./ Castle, Kate, Jim, Kathie, Martha, and Alexis are all stuck in Castle's loft during hurricane Sandy. How will they spend their days without electricity? (T for some slight language). Reviews are nice
1. Monday Night

_Monday night_

It's the Castle family plus the Becketts in Castle's loft. Alexis is home from college due to the mandatory evacuation and Castle did not want Kate, Kathie, and Jim stranded. Oh and of course Kathie's dog, Zeus.

Kate had gone into work that morning while Kathie picked up their father. Schools were closed and it gave Kathie plenty of time to get back and forth before Sandy showed up. Kathie brought over bags of food, for both humans and dogs, along with some of her belongings. Jim brought over extra blankets and pillows, which Castle automatically thought of building a fort with. Kate was in charge of the batteries and packages of bottled water.

They had a nice meal, while the lights were still on, and music was playing through the t.v speakers. They did not want to waste the battery of their iPods. Who knew how long they would be out without power.

It was 8:02pm when the power went out for good. Kathie's happiness vanished. Since the power had lasted that long she thought it was going to last till she got to watch her show, it obviously didn't. The "noooo" that came out of Kathie's mouth made Zeus tilt his head in confusion.

It was now 8:30 and the wind was picking up. Both families were on the sofa, at lost of what to do. Looking out the window to see the storm was definitely not an option. Kathie and Kate headed into Castle's study to try and find a book to read to pass the time. Kathie chose _Frozen Heat_, since with her work schedule she hadn't had time to read it. Kate was going to pick up a Patterson book, just to see Castle's reaction, when she spotted a black book with no label on it. She opened it up and saw that it was a photo album. Castle's baby album to be exact.

"Jackpot."

"What did you find?"

"Castle's baby album."

Kathie placed her book down on the side of the desk as Kate opened the book. They got to a photo of Castle in a pair of his mother's high heels when he was not even 2. They couldn't help but burst out into laughter.

Castle, Alexis, Martha, and Jim had no idea what was so funny. Alexis got up to investigate. She entered the study and saw them looking at the black book.

"You found dad's baby album." She said after closing the door.

"Shhh, come look." Kate said waving her over.

Castle tried to peer in through the books. Why did he have so many books?! Oh yea, that's right. He had gotten more books to make sure that sex in his office fantasy could be fulfilled without having the view of the kitchen. Alexis soon came out with Kathie and Kate. Kathie had _Frozen Heat_ in her hand, which made Castle smile, but Kate had nothing. He knew his book wasn't that funny.

"Didn't find anything?" Castle asked as Kate sat back down next to him.

"I found one, but I want to save it for later. It's called Blackmail." She smirked as Kathie and Alexis bit their lower lip to prevent themselves from laughing.

"Blackmail? Who's that by?" Castle looked very confused.

"Couldn't find an author. Pretty sure the last name is Rodgers."

Castle was still trying to put two and two together, when he saw the twinkle in Kate's eyes. "You found my baby album, didn't you."

Kate smiled. "We may have. Red stilettos look good on you Castle." That's when Kathie, Alexis, and Kate couldn't hold their laughter in anymore. Jim and Martha joined in.

Zeus snuggled into Castle's side, getting scared as the wind got louder. "At least I have somebody in this room that loves me."

Kate rolled her eyes. "It's only because you feed him more T-R-E-A-T-S. He loves you for your disposable thumbs and food." She smirked as she rested her head against his shoulder. "I have my own thumbs and can make my own food. But I can't make pancakes as good as yours." She smiled as she placed her hand in his.

"So I'm only loved because I can make you pancakes?" He squeezed her hand.

"No, because you can make me coffee too." She smirked again before she kissed his cheek.

By 9:00, Jim headed up to his guest room and Martha also headed up to bed, Kathie was just starting chapter 4 of _Frozen Heat_, Alexis was sending out texts to her friends, Kate was falling a sleep on Castle's shoulder, and Castle had his notepad out; writing ideas down for his next novel.

"How do you like the book so far?"

Kathie put her finger down on the paragraph she was reading. "It's good so far." She looked down and then up again. "Don't let that go to your head, Castle," both Kate and Kathie said. They smiled at each other.

"Both Beckett's teaming up on me. What did I do to deserve this?"

"Where do I start?" Kate smiled before snuggling closer to him.

By 11:00, Kate was asleep on Castle's shoulder, Kathie was still reading, and Alexis went up to her room to go to bed. Kathie saw Castle thinking and bookmarked her place in the book.

"What's on your mind?"

Castle looked over to her. "What if this is the start of the end of the world?"

Kathie gave him a look that said "why did I even ask?" "Castle, the world is not going to end. Technically, the Mayan calender ended already so we would be already dead. Mother nature just has it out for Halloween it seems."

"But what if..."

"Zombie apocalypse is impossible too."

"Halloween is the perfect cover up though! How do you know which zombie is real and which one is fake?!"

Kathie rolled her eyes. "Tell you what Castle. I'll answer the door if you get any trick or treaters. I'll sacrifice myself."

"You're too kind, Kathie."

"Castle, are you sacrificing my sister to zombies?" Kate mumbled as she slowly woke up.

"She volunteered! I didn't ask her to!"

She shook her head and got up off the sofa. She extended her hand for Castle to take. "Bed time."

Kathie got up to blow out the candles. As the last candle went out, Zeus's glow in the dark collar lit up.

"That's awesome! Where did you get that!?" Castle wanted to buy one, even if he didn't own a dog.

"Thinking twice about sacrificing my sister, huh?" Kate hugged her sister goodnight before Zeus and Kathie headed upstairs to the second guest room.

Rick and Kate headed into his bedroom, after Kate doubled checked that they didn't leave any candles on in the bathroom. They both got into bed and snuggled close to each other. "Castle, how are you going to survive without playing Angry Birds?"

He gasped. "I didn't even think of that!"

Kate smirked before moving to lean up on her elbow to look at him. "That's for sacrificing my sister to zombies." She kissed him goodnight before snuggling with her favorite writer and their blankets.


	2. Tuesday

_**AN: So the events in this chapter did happen to me Tuesday, well besides me being stranded in a house with the Castle characters. Most of the things they are doing, I did. THIS CHAPTER DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR FROZEN HEAT! Thanks for reading :)**_

_Tuesday_

That morning was the worst. Each one of the Castle residents stared at the coffee machine. No power meant no coffee. No one had thought of instant coffee or the iced ones from Starbucks. They hoped the power would go on soon. Kathie lit a match to start the burners on the stove. At least they could make breakfast. They didn't want the eggs or the bacon to go bad so it was bacon and eggs for breakfast.

Kate, obviously, was helping her sister cook while Castle took Zeus out for a walk. It was still a little windy so they did not stay out for long. Alexis found out the hard way that they had no hot water and Martha went through the bags Kate and Kathie had brought, hoping somehow coffee was in there. Jim found tea and hot chocolate in Castle's cabinet. It was not coffee, but it was the best they had.

Once Castle and Zeus walked back in, the eggs were almost done. Kate smacked Castle's hand away when he tried to steal a piece of bacon. She smirked at him. Just like old times.

Breakfast was quite, mostly because no one was awake due to lack of coffee. By 11:00 am, everyone had given up on trying to get service on their cell phones. The land line did not work either. They were cut off from the world, besides the battery powered radio. Kathie went back to reading _Frozen Heat_, sharing the book with Kate, for about an hour till Castle had an idea.

"Lets decorate for Christmas!"

Kate gave him a look that said no, Kathie was thinking about it, Jim didn't turn away from the radio, and Alexis and Martha went to go retrieve the boxes of decorations from upstairs.

Kate got up from the sofa and went over to help Martha with the one box she was carrying. "Castle, we didn't even have Thanksgiving yet and Halloween is tomorrow."

"It's never too early to start."

"I've already started downloading Christmas songs to my iPod," Kathie stated before putting the book on the coffee table and helping Martha and Alexis with the boxes. Kate got Kathie's iPod out of her purse and put it on the battery powered iPod dock. Christmas music started to play, causing Jim to turn off the radio. Kate and Kathie gave their father an apologetic look and he smiled at his girls.

Alexis and Martha opened up the boxes of various knickknacks and placed them all around the loft. Kathie and Kate changed the table cloth and napkins. The napkins went from black to red and gold, since Kate and Kathie couldn't decide which ones they liked better. Jim and Castle put up the garland over the fireplace and doorways. Every now and again Castle would catch Kate lypsinging along to the songs she knew. He smiled. He knew Katherine Beckett wasn't a grinch. Zeus was even singing, well howling, along to "Let it snow."

Once the loft was somewhat decorated, Kate was finally able to get some service on her phone. She called Ryan and Esposito to see if they were okay. It went straight to voice mail. She figured they didn't have any service or their phones were dead.

They had Nutella and jelly sandwiches for lunch, thanks to Kathie bringing it over. She knew Kate loved Nutella but she had no idea that Castle and Alexis were addicted to it as well. No one knew what to do after lunch. Jim turned the radio back on, trying to see if there was any news about when they would get the power back. No one was giving them a direct answer. They cringed when they heard about the boardwalks begin destroyed. It prompted Kate and Kathie to share stories about going to the shore when they were younger.

"Remember when we would go to the arcades with mom and grandma all the time. Grandma would always win a towel at one of those stands." Kathie smiled as she shared the memory.

"A towel?" Castle questioned.

"Everyone would always stay at grandma's house and grandma liked everyone to have a fresh, fluffy, towel," Kate smiled as she answered his question. "She would also win candy too. We'd bring a box of Swedish Fish home for dad that she would win for him." All the Becketts were smiling now.

"Then of course there was Atlantic City. She loved that place too. She was always so lucky there," Kathie said.

Jim smiled at the memory that had popped into his head. "I remember the time when she won on the slot machine and she didn't have her ID. So she shouted for me to come help her when the cop came over to her." They all laughed as all three of them did an impression of her voice screaming "Jim!", which caused the Castle family to laugh as well.

"But who could forget the time Katie found Castle, Espo, and Ryan as Elvis there," Kathie smirked.

Castle looked at Kate. "You told her!"

"I tell Kathie everything." Kate winked as she smirked.

"Guess you'll have to find somewhere else, temporarily, to participate in the Elvis contest, dad."

By 6:00, Kathie was almost done with Frozen Heat. Zeus was snuggled up by her feet, while she laid down on the sofa. Martha and Jim were watching an old movie on Castle's portable dvd player and Alexis, Kate, and Castle played crazy eights.

"What part are you on?" Castle asked from the kitchen as he placed down one of his cards.

"Just found out who killed Don."

"Ooohh you're getting to the good part!"

"Don't ruin it!" Kate and Kathie said in unison.

Kate put her last card down, winning the game. "Rematch?"

Alexis shook her head. "You won eight games in a row. There's no hope for me." She got up from the table and headed up to read the Shakespeare play that was assigned to her the week before.

Kate and Castle decided to take Zeus for a walk while it was still, somewhat, light out. "Castle, thanks for letting us stay with you," Kate said as she leaned into him more, due to the cold.

"You and your family are welcomed anytime. Besides, it would be pretty boring without you guys here," he said before he kissed the top of her head.

"I would miss you too."

"Kate Beckett just admitted she would miss me?! I'll have to mark this down on the calender when we get home."

Kate rolled her eyes but she was smiling. "You might really want to mark this day down."

"Why's that? Are you admitting to breaking the coffee machine? Because I know I didn't do that!"

"I'm not admitting to that because I didn't do it."

"But you were the one..."

She cut him off with her lips for a soft kiss. When she pulled away, she smiled at him. "I love you Castle. Even if you make me doubt it when you try to blame me for breaking the coffee machine...and I'll move in with you."

He had asked her a few days ago if she would move in with him and she never had the chance to answer him,due to Ryan calling about a murder. He didn't push her for an answer. He knew she would tell him when she was ready. "You can break the coffee machine as many times as you like as long as you start packing once the mess from the storm is cleaned up," He said before claiming her lips again for another kiss.

"I love you, Castle," She said in between kisses.

They broke the kiss when Zeus started barking. He was getting tired of sitting down on the sidewalk as they kissed. Castle kissed her quickly before saying, "I love you too." and walking with her back to the loft.

Kathie shhed them as soon as they entered. Castle leaned over her shoulder and saw that she was at the part where Nikki finds out about Tyler and Petar. Kate and Castle headed into their room to relax. As they were lying down on their bed, Castle had an idea to do shadow puppets.

"Castle, that does not even look like anything!"

"It's a dolphin!"

"That's not a dolphin."

"Alright then, let see your dolphin."

Why did that sound dirty to her? She brushed the thought aside, especially since his mother and her father were in the next room. She made the best dolphin she could. At least hers had a fin instead of Castle's blob. Kate was about to attempt a turtle when they heard Kathie's voice.

"That's not fair, Castle!"

He exited the room and head into the living room. "Did you finished the book?"

"First off, I called that ending! Second of all, how can you end it like that?! What's the code?! What does it mean?! Where's Tyler? Why isn't Rook's mom in this one?"

The thank you from Martha made Castle roll his eyes.

"What about this Captain Iron?! He's up to something and I want to know what. Plus, where is the naughty nurse?" Kate smirked at her sister fangirling. "Don't you smirk at me, Katherine Beckett. I blame you for this."

"Me?!"

"Yep, if you didn't have to be so badass he would of never based a series on you."

"She's right."

Kate glared at both of them.

"Can you give me spoilers for the next one?"

"The only thing I can tell you is that a character is name Eunice." Kathie gave her a questionable look. "Blame your sister for that one."

Kathie gave the same look to Kate. "Long story, but we were working a case and I told this guy Castle would name a character after his mom if he cooperated. I had no idea at the time what her name was."

"Be thankful that she didn't bet any of your future children with that name." That caused them to both freeze. "That's what you get for that ending and for making me read these books." Kathie smirked at both of them before heading up stairs with Zeus following behind her. Shortly after, Kate climbed the stairs with a pillow.

"Where are you going?"

"If you hear screaming ignore it." Kate said before opening her sister's door to attack her with the pillow.


	3. Wednesday

_**AN: So the rules to the game maybe a little confusing. I tried to explain the game the best I could but I probably missed a lot of stuff and there are different ways to play. Hope you're enjoying the story so far.**_

_Wednesday_

Still no power, which meant still no coffee. Their service on their phones was still dead but Castle was able to tweet to his followers that he was okay before losing signal.

Breakfast today was Poptarts. They did not taste as good when they were not toasted but they had no milk for cereal. According to Castle, Cereal without milk was unacceptable.

They turned the radio back on, to see if there was any news about the power. Still nothing. They were not going a week without power, that's for sure. Tunnels were still flooded and the trains were still down. There was no way to get to work or back to Kathie's, Kate's, or Jim's.

Kathie took a walk with Zeus to get out for a bit and to see if anyone around had power. Everything was still dark. Kate wanted nothing more to take a hot shower. The water was too cold to her liking. She was cold enough already. It was colder than it was yesterday. Everyone took advantage of the extra blankets Jim brought. Castle was a little disappointed they didn't have enough to build a fort.

Kathie grabbed another book from Castle's collection. It was a Patterson novel, just to remind him she wanted those spoilers for the next Nikki Heat book. Kate was coloring with Alexis, even though she still couldn't believe that coloring was her psych homework. Castle was writing down notes on his notepad. First thing he wrote down was to get rid of all the Patterson books so KB squared couldn't torture him. Next, were Nikki Heat ideas. His mother made a very vocal request saying Rook's mother needed at least a two chapter spread and If he didn't have any ideas she would love to help him.

"An English teacher wouldn't hurt either. Especially, if she's Nikki's sister named...Nini?" Kathie said as she didn't look up from the book she was reading.

"What does Nini stand for?" Kate asked, taking a break from coloring.

"No idea. It's the first name that came to me."

Kate rolled her eyes slightly before going back to helping Alexis.

It was almost 3:00 and everyone was starting to gt antsy. Kathie wanted to see her shows, Castle wanted twitter and Angry Birds, Alexis wanted to text her friends, Jim wanted the trains to start working, Kate wanted hot water, and Martha just wanted to be able to do something without a flashlight in her hand. Kathie then had an idea. She went upstairs and got out the tin that held the Mexican Train Dominoes.

"Oh god," was all Kate and Jim said. They knew Kathie loved this game and was kind of competitive.

"Mexican Train Dominoes? Sounds interesting. I'm in!" Castle said as he stood up from the couch.

Kate and Jim reluctantly said okay when Alexis and Martha agreed to play. Kathie explained the rules.

"Alright so we get 10 tiles. We first start with trying to get the tile with the 24 dots on it. Once someone has that they go first. They place a tile down that has a 12 on it. If they can't go they have to pick from the pile. If they still can't go they have to put their train up. Then anyone of the players can play on their board. Once they can play on their board, they remove their train. When you have one tile left you have to say uno or else you pick another tile. If you get a double tile then you have to back it up. If you can't back up the tile then you have to pick or place a tile on someone else's board. No one else can go till that tile is backed up. You can place a double on anyone's board. There's a blank board where anyone can play at anytime. The rules will come easier once we play a few rounds."

Castle looked a little confused but starting picking the tiles from the pile. The first round Kathie won, but Martha was a quick learner. The game went back and forth between Kathie and Martha. Then Kate took the lead and then Castle got a lucky streak. The last round was down to Kathie, Kate, and Castle. They each had one tile left and since they were only three points away from each other it would be a very close game. Kathie had a two and a one, Kate had a five and a one, and Castle had a six and two.

They waited to see what Martha would put down. She had a train on her board and Kathie was determined to place her two and one down on the two she had on her board. However, Martha had a two and a seven to place down. She took her train down and both Castle and Kathie's facial expressions changed. Kathie mumbled a damn it under her breath. Kate smirked, knowing they would have to pick. She could then put her tile on Kathie's five.

Kathie picked up her tile and smiled, placing it down on her board. "Uno."

Kate bit her lip. Her plan was ruined. She had to pick. She smiled though. She had a double five. She could place that on Castle's board and then use her five and one. She did just that. "You know Kath, I see why you like this game." She smiled.

The game took a good four hours, so they had dinner afterward. Leftover Mac and Cheese was not as tasty when it was recooked on the stove but it was food. Kathie decided to go get her laptop after dinner to watch downloaded episodes of Smallville. She found out that not using the laptop was worse than not using it. Her laptop was dead. Kathie just couldn't catch a break when it came to her T.V shows. She went back to her book for the rest of the night. Even Zeus was getting tired of the darkness.

Kate gave in and turned on her iPod. Her and Castle shared an earphone as they tried to keep warm on the sofa. "When do you think we'll get power back?"

"I'm hoping any second."

"At least it's not as cold as the freezer." Kate smiled softly. He tugged her closer to him. "Do you think there's been a murder during this time off?"

"Pretty sure one of us is going to kill each other if the power doesn't come back on soon." She sighed. "With all your money you think you'd have a generator."

"Complex doesn't allow it."

"I wonder how your house in the Hamptons is."

"Hopefully not washed away."

"Castle, would you be offended if I said I was starting to get bored?"

"Just as long as you don't say you're bored with me."

She smiled. "If that happens I'm pretty sure we can say it's your evil twin...or would that be your good twin?" She smirked before she kissed him. "What are we going to do if we don't have power for a week?"

"We'll make the best of it. At least Gates can't get in touch with you. I have you all to myself...kinda." He kissed her again, slower this time. "And if she knocks on the door we are not here."

"Why would she come here?"

"Because she knows you like me and if you're not at your apartment, Kathie's, or your dad's then the next place to look is with me."

"Would you let Gates stay here if she asked?"

"I would but then I know for certain there would be a murder and it would be my playing the victim."

"Don't worry Castle, I'd protect you." She smiled before kissing him once more.


	4. Thursday

_Thursday_

Everyone was ecstatic when they woke up to find that they had service on their phones. Kate thought ahead to get extra batteries for all their phones. Kathie updated her Facebook status to let family and friends know that she, Kate, their father, and the Castles were all okay. Castle updated his twitter again while Kate got in contact with Ryan and Esposito, who were both fine but also without power. Lanie was with Esposito, which made Kate glad to know that all her friends were okay and safe.

"Dad with all this going on you forgot about Halloween."

Castle shook his head. "I didn't forget, Pumpkin. Dressing up isn't as fun when it's just you.'

"He's right," Kathie said. "Plus with the power out I wouldn't be able to see how to put on and take off my makeup."

"Kathie, you brought your costume?"

Kathie nodded. "Kate told me to. Guess you'll just have to wait till next year to see me in my awesome Evil Queen outfit."

Castle smiled as he turned around to face Kate. "My girlfriend didn't want her boyfriend to be miserable on Halloween. Do you have a costume too?" Kate smiled and nodded. He pressed a quick kiss on her lips. "I love you."

"I love you too, Castle."

"Get a room!" Kathie smirked before heading outside with Zeus and her father.

Alexis found out there was power back at college, so she wasted no time packing up her things. "Bye dad, bye Grams, bye Kate. Love you."

"Nice to know where we stand when it comes to our relationship and electricity."

Kate smiled before whispering in his ear. "You know if you get your mom out of here we can take Kathie's advice and get a room. I can show you my costume too." She nipped at his ear before pulling away.

"Mother!" Castle quickly climbed the stairs to his mother's room.

Kate giggled before heading to their bedroom. She smiled as she said their to herself. She heard Martha double check if she had Kate's coffee order right before exiting the loft. Castle quickly joined Kate in the bedroom. He was just about to kiss her when they heard the sound of paws on the floor. They both sighed.

"If we don't say anything you think they would know we're here?"

"Castle, one I can't show you how much I love you when I know my dad and sister are in the next room. Two, Kathie will come in here if we don't go out there and I can't pull off the I'm just showing Castle my costume as an excuse. Three, we're both vocal when it comes to..."

"I get it. Crushing all my hopes and dreams." He sighed dramatically.

Kate gave him a look. "I'll make it up to you once the power is back on." She kissed him passionately before heading into his study, where she heard Kathie open the door. "Any places have power yet?"

Kathie shook her head. "It's still a ghost town. I feel so gross with my hair so oily."

"Think we could pose as college kids and use Alexis's shower?"

"With our luck we would run across one of my old students and our cover would be blown." They both sighed. "How do the Amish do it?"

Kate laughed before hugging her sister. "I have no idea. I'm just glad all of us are okay."

"Me too. I think we need to open a bottle of wine tonight."

"What about dad?"

"He doesn't like wine, remember. Besides, we'll play get Castle drunk once dad is asleep."

Kate laughed again. "Deal."

Kathie headed upstairs to work on her essay that was due Monday. She had a bet with her students she could write a more interesting short story, using the hurricane as a prompt. With Castle as Kathie's inspiration for the main character Kate didn't doubt that Kathie would win. In the meantime, Kate started reading _Heat Wave_ again.

Martha had come back with no coffee, but the next best thing. One of the Supermarkets was open and they had instant coffee. They just needed to light a match and fill the kettle with water. After about an hour, Kate was still reading. She heard Lady Gaga coming from upstairs. Kathie must of caved into using her iPod and dancing to Lady Gaga to keep herself warm. Martha decided to join Kathie and that was the moment Castle wished he hadn't used all of his battery playing Angry Birds so he could record them dancing and singing Poker Face. Kate was not giving in to his puppy dog eyes either.

Out of all of them, Kate knew Kathie was the one going crazy without power. Especially since she still had not seen her show and Sunday was approaching quickly. If they didn't have power by then Kate knew Kathie would be calling the power company every hour to report an outage. She figured if she annoyed them enough she'd get what she wanted...or they would be the last one without power.

That night they opened up a bottle of wine that was split between Kathie, Kate, Castle, and Martha. They spent the night sharing stories over their glass of wine. Kathie and Martha decided to call it a night after a few hours. Kate and Castle moved over towards the fireplace.

"Too bad we can't make smores." Kate yawned.

"Tired?"

"Not too tired." She winked at him before heading towards the bedroom. Thank god she knew her father, Martha, and Kathie were heavy sleepers.


	5. Friday and Saturday

_**AN: Sorry that this chapter is short but when I wrote these chapters my sister got power so I was staying over her apartment and was back to enjoying electricity aka on tumblr. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the story. Reviews would be nice :) Remember, if you can donate to the victims of Hurricane Sandy. My family was very fortunate that we did not get any damage to our houses besides some flooding to my aunt's house down the shore. **  
_

_Friday and Saturday_

They woke up due to Kathie doing the happy dance. Her neighbor texted her saying that their building had power. Jim was also happy. His friend was picking him up to go home. He hugged his girls goodbye and placed a kiss on their foreheads. He said goodbye to Martha and Castle before departing.

Castle and Martha packed a bag to stay at Kathie's apartment. They headed over to Kathie's apartment in two cars. Once inside they all sighed, thankful for heat. They rotated between the T.V, the shower, and using Kathie's laptop. Things were getting back to normal.

Martha spotted the piano in Kathie's apartment after dinner. "Darling, do you play?"

Kathie smiled. "Sometimes. When I need to relax I play the piano. I couldn't really do that while the power was out or I would of used yours. I haven't been playing for long so I still need to see the keys as I play."

"Tell them the reason you wanted to play in the first place." Kate smiled as she started doing the dishes.

"I wanted to play Paparazzi like Lady Gaga." Kathie smiled as a slight blush hit her cheeks. It was true though, she never thought about playing the piano before she was introduced to Lady Gaga and her music. Kathie thought her preforming skills where amazing when it came to playing the piano and singing.

"Dad and I both chipped in to get her that for Christmas last year," Kate said from the other room.

"They made me feel really bad for me just getting them gift cards because I was a college graduate still in debt thanks to financial aid and had no time to go shopping."

"Hey, I didn't. That Sephora gift card came in very handy."

Martha took her over to the piano and asked her to play. Kathie started to play the start of Paparazzi. She wasn't the best piano player, but considering her busy schedule and not being able to practice daily she was pretty good.

"Lovely, just lovely." Kathie smiled at Martha for the compliment she had just given her.

"Oh oh, don't tell her that Martha. She might think she has what it takes to be the next Gaga." Castle laughed at the image he had in his head of Kathie in heelless heels, wearing a teal wig, oversize sunglasses, and some crazy outfit.

"No, I'll let Gaga have her job and stick to my day job. I would fall more than she does in the shoes that she wears when she dances."

"I always wonder how you women walk in those things, let alone run and dance in them."

"It's a gift, Castle." Kate smiled as she handed him the last place with dry and put away.

They all joined each other on the sofa to watch a movie. Since everything in the freezer went bad or melted they couldn't enjoy ice cream sundaes along with the movie. Kathie was going to bake some cookies but the awful smell of the milk reminded her that everything in the fridge had gone bad as well. They had no choice but to much on gummy bears and chips while watching The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Once the movie ended, Kathie gave up her room to Martha while Kate and Castle shared the guest room. Kathie bunked on the couch with Zeus.

Saturday morning was spent at the dog park. They had reopened it since they, thankfully, didn't have much damage. Zeus needed to get out an exercise after being in a house for almost a week. Boxers had a lot of energy by nature but it seemed like Zeus had ten times that amount when he stepped into that park.

Kathie, Kate, and Castle took turns throwing the frisbee that Kathie had brought. Martha had gone to her studio to see if they had gotten much damage and to see if they had power. She met them at the park once she was done and they enjoyed hot dogs from the one of the few fenders that were out on the streets. Zeus ,obviously, had a hot dog as well.

It was late afternoon when they got back to Kathie's apartment. Zeus went straight to his bed and went to take a nap.

"Looks like you tired my dog out Castle."

"He'll be looking to go play again in ten minutes," Kate said as she sat down on the sofa, next to Castle who was petting Zeus. "Don't spoil the dog anymore than he already is."

Kathie glared at her sister for that comment before heading into the bathroom to shower.

That evening Castle got the call that his power was on, as did Kate. From sharing a loft with six people, plus a dog, from just going back to him and his mother felt lonely. Kate was called into work and said she would be staying at her apartment tonight to make sure everything was working okay over there. He would call Kate later to make sure she didn't need finding the light switch. After all, it would be rather dark when she came home. Just then he saw her face on his iPhone screen.

"Murder or lonely?"

She smiled. "Murder. But kinda lonely too. Meet me at the corner of 5th and 6th in ten minutes."

And just like that things were back to normal.


End file.
